


Life After Loss

by Metrowolf



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Death, Loss, Multi, Other, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-02
Updated: 2016-04-21
Packaged: 2018-05-24 06:47:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6145069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Metrowolf/pseuds/Metrowolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a tragic accident the Fake AH crew finds themselves short one member. They learn to pick up the pieces, and how to stay together with a gaping hole left behind.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Miracle

**Author's Note:**

> a disclaimer I guess: I am not shipping the actual people. These are characters based off the real people, but in a video game, and NOT ACTUALLY THEM.

Everything was happening at once, which is the worst time for everything to be happening. Jack winced at the loud screaming in her ear, the beeping of the something or other in the cock pit, and Geoff yelling fiercely at spilling his drink because of that last missile hit. Air was streaming through the cabin thanks to a new hole in the roof, making her hair dance. Jack had a bad feeling about the plane's condition, but Ryan could totally land this thing with one wing and several holes before it exploded right? That was his job.

  
Instead Ryan, black skull mask and all, shoved his way into the fuselage with his parachute on. "Heyyy guys, I think it's time to evacuate," Ryan shouted at them, his voice barely audible over the sound of a god damn plane crashing. If it wasn't for the ear pieces they were wearing that connected all of them Jack probably wouldn't have heard him at all.

  
"It's time to wut?" Gavin's voice joined the fray, but only for a moment before Michael shouted something indiscernible and the lads went silent again.

  
"Geoff?" Jack grabbed frantically at a seat as the plane started to descend. Rapidly. She looked up and saw that he was already making his way toward her, two parachutes awkwardly held in his arms. Jack turned back to Ryan to motion for him to go, but she found he had already jumped. What a dick.

  
Geoff thrust the parachute at her chest while clumsily putting his own on. "I ran out of scotch, it's time to go."

  
"It was time to go before you spilled the rest of your-" Jack started, but before she could finish Geoff grabbed her by the collar and shoved her out the open door of the jet.

  
Her surprised scream tore through the air, and for a moment she thought she had left her stomach behind. She hated that first moment of freefall, which Geoff knew all too well. Ryan was a dick, her boss was a dick, everyone in the stupid crew was a dick but her and Jack yelled in frustration as she plummeted to the earth.

  
"Stop being such a baby," Geoff complained. Ryan was far below them, leaning forward so he'd go even faster.

  
"Fuck you!" Jack screamed back. "Fuck this!"

  
She heard Ryan chuckling over the headset before an explosion shook the whole sky. She looked to her left, or was it her right? Who fuckin knows in free fall, somewhere that was not too close to her the goddamn jet finally blew, filling the air with a fireball.

"Goodbye jet!" Ryan yelled, "I barely knew ye!"

"What happened to the jet?!" Jeremy's panicked voice came over the headset.

"Let's just say you boys aren't going to have an aerial evac," Geoff yelled back.

"Awesome," Ray sighed.

"What do you mean we won’t have an evac!" Screamed Michael. "This place is crawling with cops, Matt is no where to be found and not responding, and eVERYTHING HAS GONE TO HELL!!"

"It started in hell to be fair," Ryan said quietly. He let out a small grunt as he pulled his chute.

"You lost Matt again?" Jack sighed. She and Geoff pulled their chutes, and she gasped at the tug on her shoulders. She hated that part. "Ray it was your turn to keep track of him!"

"Look, when that guy doesn't want to be found he- oh hey shit watch it Michael!" Jack could hear gunfire over the headset and she bit her lip. Her boys were in trouble, and she had a plan.

~*~

Ray hit the ground hard before rolling to a somewhat awkward crouch next to Gavin. "We are going to fuckin die," He said confidently. Gavin just shook his head and continued to cower. They had found refuge behind an over turned truck, but the cops were being relentless bastards as normal and he could hear choppers circling around the parking garage. On top of that the sirens of the police cars already inside were echoing off the walls. If ever there was a time for an emergency evac it was now, except the fucking idiots who were supposed to be getting him blew up the fuckin plane. Basically it was every heist they had ever pulled.

Michael was several feet to their left, his mini gun out as he laid suppressing fire over the police. Jeremy stood comfortably next to him, using his automatic to cover Michael's back.

"Anyone see a way out of here that doesn't involve dying?" Ray asked conversationally. He leaned out from behind the truck, firing his sniper rifle twice. No scope, but he still got a hit. Fuck yeah.

"Doubt it," Jeremy replied.

Geoff and Jack yelled something over the headset, followed by more chuckling from Ryan.

"So let's recap, we have no support from the gents," Gavin started.

"Useless assholes," Michael muttered.

"No word on Matt or Lindsey, did we at least get the jewels?"

Ray pulled a small bag out of his pocket. "I got some, but I think Matt had the big bag."

"Awesome," Jeremy growled.

"So is everyone else enjoying their Tuesday?" Gavin grinned.

Michael finally stepped behind cover, setting down the mini. He looked over at Ray and Gavin, a thin line of blood dripping down from a cut on his forehead. There was a certain finality about his look, as if he still couldn't think of a way out, and was starting to think there wasn't one. It was possible, but they had been in a number of corners before. Someone came through. Some cloud parted. Some miracle happened. Ray was sure it would happen again.

He took a chance to raise himself over the truck, setting his rifle up. None of the cops had recovered from Michael's onslaught yet, giving him enough time to hit one in the leg and another in the shoulder before he ducked back down.

"Any ideas yet?" Jeremy called over to them.

Gavin shook his head, but Ray found it in him to smirk, "yeah sure, let's just walk out the front."

"These sirens are getting on my nerves," Michael growled, ignoring both of them. He switched his mini for a pistol and stood up. He got off two shots before he got hit, a bullet ripping through his side and splattering the ground with blood.

Michael staggered before falling backwards, Jeremy yelling at him while Ray and Gavin stood still in shock.

"My boi!" Gavin shout after a beat, struggling to his feet, before Ray grabbed him roughly and pulled him back down.

"Do you want to get shot too? Get down idiot!" Ray screamed, clenching his fist in fear. If they were going to get a miracle they needed it soon. Ray looked desperately at Jeremy, who was applying pressure to Michael's bullet wound. Gavin made a soft choked noise, and for a moment Ray could hear nothing but that. No sirens, no choppers, no screaming, just one soft whimper.

He stood up suddenly, aiming his rifle at the nearest officer. He had been aiming to cripple, but no more. It was time to strike them down.

Ray never got the chance. His gaze was so focused he failed to hear the hummer until it was roaring in front of him, blocking the crew from the police. Matt leaned out the window, his red hoodie up and his glasses missing.

"Sorry I'm late, get the fuck in!" Matt shouted, ducking as the police shot out the passenger window.

If Ray was waiting for a miracle he guessed this was it.

Ray jumped forward, running the gap between his cover and Michael's with impunity. He helped Jeremy get their friend to his feet while Gavin chirped nervously near them.

"Gavin help us or get in the god damn car!" Jeremy shouted as he almost tripped over Gavin. Gavin yelped, climbing obediently in the hummer. He climbed into the middle seat, pushing down the drink holder to make more room. Ray followed him quickly, chucking his sniper rifle into the back before they both helped haul Michael in. Matt was putting his foot on the gas before Ray could even shut the door behind him.

"We got everyone?" Matt called.

"Yup," Jeremy nodded. Gavin was crammed next to Ray, and Jeremy was standing in the middle, trying to climb into the front seat. Michael was laying across Ray and Gavin's laps, cussing quietly at every bump they hit. Which was quite a few since Matt was taking a less then usual route out of the garage: Through a gapping hole in the wall that he must have made on his way in.

"Any last words?" Matt shouted as they emerged onto open road.

"Fuck You!" Michael yelled right back, trying to sit up. Gavin, who was applying pressure to his hurt friend struggled to keep Michael from moving. "And fuck the police!"

"Wonderful," Jeremey laughed as he pulled himself into the passenger seat. "Do you all have your seat belts on?"

"Does Michael count as a seat belt?" Gavin asked.

Jeremy didn't have a chance to respond, Matt hit the breaks hard causing the rest of them to shout in varying degrees of terror. Matt swerved to avoid the police car that cut them off, and skidded across a railing, ending up on a side street he really didn't want to go down. Michael cussed loudly from the back seat, and Jeremy was sure he'd have a bruise on his chest where his seat belt kept him from hitting his head on the windshield. This is why you wear fuckin seat belts.

"Sorry," Matt mumbled, righting himself. "Can someone get a gps out? I have no idea how this road is going to get us to our extraction point."

"Extraction point?" Ray repeated. "You do realize Ryan crashed the plane, there is no extraction point anymore."

"Really?" Matt asked in alarm, honking his horn as he passed a pedestrian. They had to make it out of the city before the cops had the chance to set up a road block. Of course they could set up a road block outside of town, but in the country it was easier to off road. They usually went to Mount Killiad to lose the police, and if all else failed they skipped town for a week or so. They had at least four safe houses in the neighboring towns, all of which were owned by Jack.

"Well that blows!" Matt sighed, before taking another random turn.

"You're telling me," Ray muttered under his breath.

They both let out a yelp as the back window exploded, glass filling the back. Gavin let out one of his stupid screeches, while Matt turned the car violently again, taking them down a residential path. The news chopper was probably getting a kick out of this.

Ray cussed furiously, and decided to go for his gun. He pulled himself up, moving carefully as to not jostle Michael, and slid into the back. The back of the hummer had been cleared of it's seats, and instead several large bags rolled around. The fuckin jewels, Matt had come through. Ray picked up the rifle he had tossed back earlier and set it up in what used to be the rear window. Without hesitating he shot the front wheel of the closest cop car, sending it careening into another cruiser close behind it.

"Careful!" Matt advised, before turning back to Jeremy who was frantically shouting directions.

"Left! Left! We can't go straight here it's a dead end! Take the next right! No not that one, the other next right!"

"Well things could have gone better," Michael coughed, trying to wipe the cold sweat from his brow. Instead he just managed to smear some more blood on his face. Even Ryan would be impressed with the mask of gore he was wearing at this point.

"Much better," Gavin agreed.

"I don't know," Ray joked, "we did get the jewels in the end. And we're totally going to get away."

Matt made another sharp turn, and suddenly they were on an empty road. No houses, no cars aside from their beat to hell hummer and the handful of cop cars still on their tail. Unfortunately there wasn't any cover either. Just a few cacti and a lot of dirt.

"Well this is much better," Jeremy said sarcastically, waving his hand at the open space in front of them. "How will the cops ever find us now?!"

"Shut up, if we can get across Ponti bridge we can high tail it into the woods. I so know where we are now!" Matt yelled back.

"Does anyone know where the gents ended up? I haven't heard any chatter from them in a while," Gavin said suddenly.

"I'm sure they're fine, we don't have time to worry about them," Jeremy said quickly. "Take the next-"

"I fuckin know!" Matt shouted.

Ray shot twice more out the back before he ran out of bullets. He checked his pockets, but only found the tiny baggie of gems. Geez he had genuine diamonds but not a single round for his favorite pink rifle. "Anyone have sniper rounds?"

There was a moments pause in which they all forgot they were fleeing the police and checked their pockets for any loose bullets. Even Michael rustled in his leather jacket. He handed over a small silver knife, and Gavin gave him a flare gun.

"You guys are useless," Ray muttered, switching his rifle for a regular pistol. Desperate times. "Where'd you get this car? If it were yours Matt it would be stuffed full of extra ammunition."

"I uh, hot wired it in the garage," Matt admitted.

Well, they were screwed because of it. The pistol was doing absolutely nothing against the cops, and the stupid chopper really needed to blow the fuck and leave them alone already. It was only a matter of time before they lost a tire or got stopped somehow.

"Look, we're only a few minutes from the bridge, and maybe if we're lucky the rest of the crew will catch up to us and help soon," Matt sighed.

"Lindsey and Trevor?" Gavin asked.

"Geoff Ryan and Jack," Matt shot back immediately, "Have those two ever helped on a heist?"

"Lindsey ran her own heist you fuckin idiot," Michael coughed. He struggled to sit up again, and this time Gavin couldn't hold him down. He looked back at Ray, his side still obviously paining him. "Hey boy be careful back there."

"Of course," Ray replied.

"Hey!" They all jumped as Jack's voice filled their ears, "what's your status boys?"

"Jack? Where the hell have you guys been?" Jeremey shouted back, putting his hand over his ear piece to hear Jack's voice better.

"Working on plan c," Jack said confidently.

"C? We're on plan fucking k by now," Ryan muttered darkly. Jack scoffed and his voice went dead again.

"We have a cargobob and can pick you up! We're about five minutes out," Jack added almost gleefully. Leave it to Jack to pull a cargobob out of her ass to save them.

"Alrighty then, hurry up," Ray muttered.

Matt let out a yelp suddenly, turning sharply and skidding to avoid a police cruiser who cut them off. Ray let out a sharp cry as he was pitched from the back seat, nearly falling out the rear window. A bit of the remaining glass cut through his jacket and he felt a sharp pain on his hip bone. Shit. Shit shit shit Ray screamed as he frantically tried to grab at anything to keep him in the car. He could hear the confused shouting of the rest of the crew, and the shuffling of someone trying to come to his aid.

Matt slammed the breaks, and Ray managed to brace himself against the backdoor. He felt his head spinning, and faintly he was aware of Gavin's hand on his leg, trying vainly to hold him. Just as they were coming to a stop Ray's hand slipped and he slid across a piece of broken glass. He let out another shout, pulling his hand back. Without his hand to brace himself, he lost his balance, falling out of the back window and rolling to a stop on the hard asphalt below.

Ray could only see white spots for a few moments, and for once everything was quite. It the back part of his mind he was aware he lost his earpiece, but in the front there was nothing aside from the sharp pain that was his whole body. He didn't have his gun anymore, just the silver dagger Michael had given him. Ray pulled it as he slowly raised his head, blinking away the spots in the edge of his vision.

The police cruisers in pursuit of them stopped a hundred feet short, much to Ray's confusion. Then he looked up and realized they were on the Ponti bridge. And both of their exits were blocked off.

"Ray!" It was Jeremy's voice. Deep and clear in all the other sounds rushing in Ray's head.

"S'alright guys," Ray slurred, trying to pull himself to his feet. His cuts stung him, and what the fuck was that his beanie across the road. How'd it get there? Ray staggered to the other side of the bridge, grabbing his hat from the ground. It was his good luck beanie, he needed it.

Ray leaned against the railing, and watched the scene in front of him unfolded. Michael and Jeremy were out of the car and running towards him. A few of the police officers were getting out of their own vehicles, and it didn't look like they wanted to give the crew a hug. Then a cargobob crested the tree line, approaching the lot of them. What the fuck, this is all too much.

A bullet ricocheted off the railing next to Ray, and he jerked back in surprise, hitting the railing and stumbling backwards. He grabbed the railing in alarm, falling backwards off the bridge. More shouting, but Ray ignored them completely. His hands slipped on the railing, slicked by his own blood. Ray looked fretfully at the water, almost a hundred feet below him. He groaned as he tried to find purchase with his feet, but his shoes kept slipping.

He couldn't hold on forever. He could hear the police shouting, Michael and Jeremy shouting right back and gunfire. The chopper was right overhead, it's heavy rotation sending gusts of air across the bridge. Freedom was so close, but the boys were wasting time trying to save… him.

Ray gritted his teeth, not a single thing coming to his head as he continued to slip further. Well he did think of one thing. He looked down at the water again. His friends wouldn't make it if they wasted time trying to save him.

Ray did the only thing he could, he gave them one last miracle.

He let go.


	2. That Night

  Ryan sat on Ray's bed, holding his mask in his hands. It had been a long day, one of the longest Ryan had lived through. It felt like he didn't, that he had died as well when Ray fell from that bridge. They all knew the risks, but no one was ever prepared for this. Ryan wished that he could turn around, and Ray would be curled up on a nest of blankets like he always was, ready to invite him in or send Ryan away depending on his mood.

  "You aren't supposed to be in here," Jack said from where she was standing at the doorway.

  Ryan looked up at her slowly, letting a sly grin grace his lips. He always smiled when he wished he were dead. "I didn't see you there darling. Why shouldn't I be allowed in here?"

  "This is Ray's room," Jack said, in a patient voice, as if Ryan didn't know that and she were just trying to be helpful. "He'd be upset if he knew you were in here without him."

  "Then why are you here?" Ryan replied, setting his mask down on the bed.

  The flight to the safe house was a blur for Ryan. They tried to get the lads from the bridge, but only got there in time to see Ray fall from the bridge. They didn't have time to find his body, and instead a screaming Jack had to force Michael and Jeremy onto the cargobob before anyone else got hurt. Or, in Michael's case, more hurt. Michael was patched up, his bullet wound treated and covered before he could hurt himself worse from exertion. He was asleep from the painkillers before they even reached the house, and Lindsey and Gavin were curled up with him now, watching over him. Ryan had the feeling no one else was going to sleep that night.

  "I-" Jack stuttered. Stuttering wasn't like her. "I just wanted to see it again." She admitted.

  "It still smells like him," Ryan added. "It's been months since we were here last and it still smells like him."

  Jack just frowned, moving across the room to sit next to Ryan on the bed. "This is my fault. If I had just gotten there sooner-"

  "No it's not," Ryan immediately cut her off. "Don't you dare say that, it's just survivor's guilt, and I know we're all going to have it for a while. If only I hadn't lost the jet, if only Michael and Jeremy had been fast enough to catch him. What happened was awful, but it wasn't your fault."

  Jack was silent, but after a moment she looked away from him.  "We're pretty fucked up aren't we?" She asked with a small sigh.

  Ryan leaned his head against her shoulder. The gang wasn't prone to being affectionate. They mostly yelled at each other, picked fights, and called each other assholes or Dickheads or 'Mingey mimp wobler' or whatever British expressions Gavin came up with on the fly. But here Ryan was, taking comfort in Jack's gentle presence. She was the most level headed of all of them, and she knew when to be there for her crew.

  Ryan found himself not wanting to break the silence. One of his best friends was gone. One of the few people who made life worth living.

  Jack on the other hand fidgeted under Ryan's silence. She turned her head and gave him a quick kiss on the forehead before pushing him back and standing up. "Try to get some rest. You need it."

  "Where are you going?" Ryan asked, rubbing his face. He really needed to stop wearing his face paint under his mask, he felt kinda greasy. 

  "To make sure Geoff doesn't drink himself into a stupor, to make sure Jeremy and Matt haven't run off and done something stupid, to make sure Michael is still sleeping and I think you get the picture," Jack shrugged. She gave him a pathetic smile," Just because Ray is gone doesn't mean I'm going to stop looking after the rest of you idiots."

  Now that was the Jack he knew and loved. While Ryan didn't return the smile, while he wished she would stay the night with him, he was glad someone was looking after the rest of the crew. God knew it wasn't going to be him anytime soon.

~*~

  Jack shut the door behind her as she left Ray's room. She knew she probably shouldn't leave Ryan in there alone, but she needed to look after the rest of them, and Ryan could handle himself.

  their safe houses were a bit of a mixed bag. Sometimes they had rooms, like Ray, but most of them just wanted a bed and slept anywhere. So when Jack poked her head into the next room she wasn't sure who she'd find. As it turned out, there was no one in the next room, but a red hoodie told her that Matt had probably been in there at some point.

  There was only one more room on this side of the house, and Jack turned her attention to it before she went to the kitchen. Lyndsey looked up in confusion as Jack looked in, letting the light of the hallway spill onto the bed. Michael was sleeping in the middle of the bed, his shirt off and bandages heavily padding his side. Gavin was laying next to him, but if he was awake he wasn't curious enough to see who was checking on them. Lyndsey blink a few times in the light, and when Jack waved she just laid back down, pulling Michael closer to her. 

  Jack quietly closed the door and wandered into the living room. Here she found Matt and Jeremy playing Minecraft on the xbox. Geoff was watching from where he was perched on the couch, slowly taking sips straight from a bottle of whiskey. He had dressed down Jack noted, now wearing a simple tee shirt and jeans. The three of them were talking in low tones, Matt clearly trying to make a building while Jeremy and Geoff were both offering unhelpful tips.

  "What are you doing?" Jack asked, sitting next to Geoff on the couch.

  "I'm trying to build a fully functioning zombie villager testing facility but Geoff is being an ass," Matt replied. His character on the screen punched Jeremy's before placing more blocks. This repeated a few more times before anyone else spoke.

 "Why are you building a villager torture chamber?" Jack asked finally.

  "Because it's stressful," Jeremey replied without looking at her. His character had run off to look for zombies even though they were playing on creative mode and Matt could spawn as many as he wanted.

  "Because it's stressful?" Jack repeated in confusion, looking at Geoff.

  "Why are you looking at me? I'm not playing the damn game," Geoff shrugged before taking another swig of whiskey. He looked at the bottle of whiskey apathetically before offering it to Jack. She shook her head.

  "Because I'd rather be stressed about this than anything else right now," Matt explained patiently.

  "Oh," Jack sighed. She stared quietly at Matt and Jeremy as they worked. Jeremy's eyes were red and puffy, like he had been crying recently. Matt's hands were twitching worse than they normally did, but he kept his eyes on the console like it was the only thing that mattered.

  "You guys want anything to eat?" Jack asked, standing up suddenly.

  "Anything," Matt said, finally taking his eyes from the screen to look at her.

  "Fruit punch," Jeremy added.

  "Do we have any peanuts?" Geoff asked. Then he handed her the bottle, "and could you put this up for me?"

  Jack took the bottle and nodded. She walked to the kitchen, but instead of getting anyone their snacks she sat down at the table. The clock let her know it was a little past midnight, and even though she felt like death itself she didn't want to go to bed. She knew she'd just have nightmares about losing Ray over and over again. Ryan told her it was survivor's guilt, and that she'd feel this way for a while. The thought would always be looming over her head; what if she had gotten there sooner? Would Ray still be alive? Jack put her head in her hands, trying not to think of the answer, but felt tears well in her eyes anyway.

  "Hey hey, don’t do that shit," Geoff said as he sat down across from her Jack looked up in alarm, she hadn't heard him come in.

  "Sorry," Jack mumbled, wiping her eyes.

  "Damn straight, the last thing we need is for you to be crying. Today has been shitty enough," Geoff said angrily. His hair looked ruffled and out of place, like he had been running his hands through it a lot. Then he reached a hand across the table, setting it carefully on Jack's. Geoff sighed loudly, all previous anger gone from his tone. "We're going to keep going after this. We've lost people before Jack, and I'm sure we'll lose people again. We have a dangerous line of work. But this is what we do."

  "I know. It doesn't make it any easier," Jack took Geoff's hand, lacing her fingers with his. Her chest still felt like a raw wound, but he made it hurt just a little less. That's all she could hope for.

~*~

Gavin couldn't sleep. Michael laid in his arms, but it was hardly a comfort. Instead Gavin kept tracing his fingers around the edge of Michael's bandages. Gavin had come so close to loosing two people that day. Ray, who had slipped from the edge of the bridge, felt like he was already a shattered memory in Gavin's head. It hadn't felt real, it couldn't be real. Gavin would wake up and find there had never been a Ray, Michael had never taken a bullet, and Gavin was still in Europe where he wasn't a wanted criminal.

  But the feeling of Michael breathing fitfully kept him grounded. Lindsey was breathing a bit more regularly on the other side of the bed, but it was clear to Gavin she wasn't sleeping either. They both needed the same thing they couldn't get; reassurance that Michael would survive the night. That would only come with time, and neither them were willing to wait.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, Class has been keeping me pretty busy, but here have a chapter. This is still going I promise.


	3. And the crew starts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I call this chapter the "all the references" Chapter

  It all started with Jack and Geoff. They were something of an item for sure, but the police force knew them as something else entirely. They were the Bonnie and Clyde of Los Santos, the only duo in the history of the city to get away from a bank heist with all the money whilst wearing matching taco costumes. Sure there were gangs here and there after drugs and money, but these two stood out for their rambunctious ways and their raw potential to cause trouble.  

  They didn't even consider expanding until they were staring at a wealthy British kid who had just tried to steal their corvette. He had messy brown hair, a stupid accent, and certainly would have succeeded had Jack not gotten a text about movement outside the house while Gavin was trying to open the gate. He didn't seem too stressed that they just caught him red handed, in fact he seemed delighted.

  "Where did you come from kid?"

  "England. I can't believe I'm actually talking to you, I'm such a huge fan of your work."

  "Why on earth did you try to steal our car? We have like ten, why that one specifically?"

  "That was your getaway car from your third heist. It's a classic."

 "How did you get in here?"

  "Oh it was easy!"

  After thirty minutes of talking Geoff was ready to kill and Jack wanted to hire the kid. She would grow to regret the decision.

  Next to join the gang was Michael.

He showed up to practice with the kid one day, (Jack you need to stop calling him the kid, he's twenty three) (He's ten years younger than us, that makes him a kid in my book) all rough edges and boisterous yelling, but Geoff had to admit he was a great fighter and would make a valuable asset to the team. He had a great style, and while he was more loyal to Gavin than the gang, Michael decided to stay.

  Then came Ray.

  Geoff was already getting concerned with the size of the gang, because, let's face it, they were a gang at that point. They had Geoff, who planned most of the heists, Jack how took care of finances and was their piolet, Gavin who usually ran distractions or cover (and even did some hacking upon occasions) and Michael who provided the muscle. Then one day Michael sits down with a short Hispanic guy in tow and Geoff loses his shit.

  "Absolutely not, we've already taken in two strays-"

  "Geoff calm your shit, he's just hanging out with me and Gav today."

  "So he's just going to tag along huh? What is this, girl scouts?! He hasn't even looked up from his cell phone since he got here!"

  "I'm posting sweet memes on twitter."

  "Shut up Ray, look Geoff he can help."

  "Really? What can he do?!"

  Ray finally looked up at that. While he was fluent in Spanish and was a math wizard, what he decided to impress Geoff with was the thing he knew the gang leader would like the most. His sniper skills.

  "I could shoot a flea off of a dog's balls," Ray bragged after he had just shot down ever target on the range, and one unfortunate bird that had been flying above them.

  The crew was silent, and they all looked at Geoff.

  "He can stay," Geoff said silently.

  Nobody was expecting Ryan.

  He knocked on the front door one day, and silence followed the noise. Ray was smoking with Gavin on the couch, both of them too confused to do anything. Geoff got up and answered the door, only to find a bespectacled man in dad jeans with a print out add.

  "How did you get this address?" Geoff accosted him.

  "I'm here to answer the help wanted add you put on craig's list?" Ryan asked hesitantly.

  "I never put up an add," Geoff said, before Jack dashed into the living room from the hallway.

  "That was me! I did!" She explained, looking gleeful to see Ryan. "You're the computer expert?"

  "Uh, yeah?" Ryan replied, still looking slightly confused with Geoff.

  "Oh good, I can't get some of my basic functions running on my laptop," Jack said quickly, towing Ryan into the house and away from Geoff with excitement.

  Two days later Ryan bought his first mask and killed three cops while he was supposed to be getting some McDonalds for Ray. "I just don't know what went wrong," Ryan said in exasperation, handing Ray his fries. 

  "Is this blood or ketchup?"

  "Don't know, hardly care."

  He had become part of the crew without anyone really questioning it, and he seemed to fit perfectly.

  The rest of the crew fell into place over the following months. Lyndsey started helping with their set ups, and it was obvious from the moment they met that Michael was smitten. Matt and Jeremy were planning to rob the same store as the Fake AH crew, and they ended up pulling resources instead of risking going it alone. (Their mistake was letting Geoff split the loot. He gave the lions share to the crew and so the duo decided to stick around until Geoff paid them fairly.) Trevor followed along, and sometimes they worked with outside sources. A cute black girl named Mica, A group of weirdos who called themselves Funhaus, and a masked man they knew only as Critikal. What had started as two people grew to something so much bigger, and even Geoff couldn't complain about it anymore.


End file.
